Late that evening, Carl sat on his bed, eyeing a suitcase full of his tools and equipment. While he knew that going outside in the dark would be risky, he figured that if he brought Tobi’s rifle, he would be safe enough. If all else failed, he always had his rock pick to get him out of a dangerous situation, after all. He had brought his coat into his room rather than hanging it, so that he could get himself sorted out without a need to fumble around when it got dark enough. Looking out the window to see if anybody was there, he lit a candle, and put it inside a lantern. Sighing heavily, he made one last check to make sure he had everything. Deciding to bring a second pencil, he closed the case, and looked out the window again, this time looking at the ground underneath. It was probably too conspicuous and high to climb down from, so he waited, and eventually when it was dark enough, sneaked into the darkness, with only his lantern to give him light. Carl’s heart thumped as the rifle slung around his back bumped against the wall, but the tree near the house often crashed into it and made similar noises anyway - Carl would be fine.
He knew that they might notice the light from outside the window, so he placed it close to his chest, and wrapped his coat around it, trying to get as far as he could by taking large steps. Carl made his way towards the nearby woods, walking quickly until he was certain that he would not be seen from the house. Breathing a loud sigh of relief, he leaned against a tree, and took a sigh of breath. The sky was a deep dark blue, almost empty of stars. Even the waning moon had little light to spare, and he was deeply glad that he had brought the lantern along with him. His steps were slower, more careful, and his lantern was held out far in front of him.
Suddenly, he got the sharp and harsh feeling in his heart that they might check on his room, and that he had not locked the door. In only a few more seconds, his heart contracted again, as he heard the cracking of a branch. Slightly panicked, he looked down at his feet and kicked away the snow. There was no branch near them. Hiding his lantern in his coat and shaking with shallow breaths, he squatted and tiptoed through the woods, trying to get closer to the foot of the mountain by the clearing. The sounds of footsteps and rustling wouldn’t subside, and Carl swore they were getting closer. He remembered how he probably wouldn’t be able to pick up the gun in time if someone or something attacked him, and that the crazy man might very well be in the forest again. Only this time, perhaps he wouldn’t be after the trees.
Carl’s mind cast back to London. For some reason, the thought of a lone madman or some crazed animals seemed far more terrifying that any mugger, even if an attack from them was far less likely. Carl felt as if his breathing was getting louder, and so at first he quietened his breath. It was only when he stopped breathing for a few seconds, however, that he realised that the faint breaths were not just coming from him. Carl turned in a circle all around him, watching for any people or faces.
“Hello?” he asked into the silence of the night. But the sound was swallowed by the harsh looking trees. He could only gulp. His eyes were no longer adjusted to the darkness, and he doubted that he would be able to see anything that was coming for him. He started walking backwards, at least partially comforted by the fact that he was nearly out of the woods. Perhaps the shortcut wasn’t the best way, but it was better than being seen.
At least, that’s what Carl repeated to himself.
Before it had just been footsteps and the cracks of sticks, but as the sounds got closer, Carl heard a faint groaning sound to the left of him. Turning to where he was going this time, he picked up his pace faster and faster. And as he sped up, so did the steps he heard. And now there weren’t just two, but now it sounded to Carl like there were six. As he turned to his left for a second, he saw a flash of white, and then a screaming animal. Not a bleating or a roaring, but an inhuman scream that he instinctively knew that was from some sort of animal. An unnatural scream. This was enough to get Karl running out of the forest, and as he picked up speed and made more and more noise as he was preparing to escape, he saw two empty eyes reflect the light back into his face. And so he ran, and ran, and ran, and ran
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And escaped the forest.
Breathing a sigh of relief as he saw the familiar path towards the foot of the mountain, he slowed down a little, still taking frequent looks behind him to make sure that the strange creature was not after him. Or person. Carl didn’t know, and quite frankly, now wasn’t the time to think about it. He knew for sure that he wouldn’t be going the short way to go back inside.
Carl stopped again to regain his composure and to take a little break, and then continued gently up the mountain, not wanting to tire himself out. As the light reflected off the thin scraps of remaining snow, Carl took in the beauty of the rocks. This mountain truly had a feeling of sheer, ancient power. A smile crossed his face. There was no doubt that what he would find inside at the entrance of that cave would be a surprise that would shake his very being.
Of course, it wouldn’t impress Tobi. Carl’s heart was still rushing with excitement at the thought of sneaking out, almost in a sense of childish glee. His suitcase swung left and right, and often crashed into his leg. Not that he cared much, of course. The excitement and adrenaline mixed with the rush of invigoration from the cold winds kept his mind focused on his goal, even if his body was exhausted from the walking and his feet were starting to hurt. A lot. He was glad he bought new boots for his trip to Selby, for he was sure that his old ones would do him little good.
Now that he was near the cabins, Carl looked down the tall and winding mountain path. He thought he saw something moving at the bottom, but could hardly tell if it was a swaying tree, an animal, or a person. It seemed so far away that it would hardly inconvenience him before he got to the top, and by the time it got there, it would be the problem of the locals. After all, they were the ones gathered at the top - he would be safe in the cave.
As he got up to the area with the cabins and shacks, he saw nothing out of the usual. The path to the cave and chapel weren’t too close to the bulk of housing anyway, and so he didn’t worry too much about the light and noise. Nevertheless, he covered up his lantern a little with the coat as he could with one hand, like before. This made it remarkably difficult to see exactly where he was going, although after about ten minutes of squinting and guessing, he finally found the entrance, as well as the barricade.
“DO NOT ENTER - CAVE UNSTABLE”
As Carl raised a lantern to the cave, he understood what the sign was referring to. There seemed to be many thick boulders near the floor of the entrance. Still, knowing that this was a mining settlement, he figured that this sign would be mostly referring to not allowing miners inside. Putting his lantern down and opening his suitcase for the rock pick, he confirmed his suspicions. There seemed to be some structural insecurity, but he figured it would be fine if he didn’t dig around too much. Lifting up his lantern, he stepped inside, as the light from his lantern filled the area he was in. As he stepped further into the cave, his face, too, would light up. As an upright-sitting skeleton buried next to multiple ancient-looking containers stared him in the eye, he knew he had found something unusual.
Yet his face turned around as he heard loud breathing and footsteps. In the entrance of the cave, he saw a portly silhouette. Despite his distance from Carl, a few rays of moonlight painted his clothes. Carl saw that he was wearing a suit, and gasped, gripped with a sense of surprise. The man smashed the side of the wall with something, a tool? His elbow? It did not matter.
“Lande, stop!” Carl gasped, as the rocks in the cave began to tumble. He tried to run, but it was no use. The entrance quickly began to fill up with rocks from the ceiling, and soon escape seemed totally impossible. As the final of the large rocks inside the cave fell with a decisive thud, the cave was pushed further into its dreadfully fragile state, and the barricade and sign at the entrance were utterly crushed.
“DO NOT ENTER - CAVE UNSTABLE”